We are on the edge of our collective virtual seats for our crowning Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) esports event of the year: the Thunderpick World Championship (TWC) 2026 LAN Finals. The stage is set for electrifying action at the BLAST Arena Studios venue in Attard, Malta.
No esports fan should miss out on the TWC 2026 LAN Finals, where superstars will clash in pursuit of glory. Here’s what fans can expect, from tournament details to the eight teams vying for the coveted trophy.
TWC 2026 LAN Finals Schedule & Format
Mark your calendars for Oct. 14 to 18, clear your schedule, tell your friends, and get ready for top-tier CS2 esports. That’s right, the TWC 2026 LAN Finals will deliver non-stop action across five days of competition.
We’ll kick things off with a Group Stage (Oct. 14 to 16), featuring two groups of four teams each using a classic double-elimination (GSL-style) format. All matches in this stage of competition are best-of-three, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the Playoffs Stage.
In the Playoffs Stage (Oct. 17 to 18), the top four teams will duke it out in a thrilling single-elimination bracket format. Semifinal matches and the Third-Place Decider are best-of-three, and the Grand Final is best-of-five.
Teams and talent are scheduled to arrive on Oct. 12. A media day will be held on Oct. 13.
How To Watch TWC 2026 LAN Finals
All TWC 2026 LAN Finals matches will be broadcast live on twitch.tv/thunderpicktv, youtube.com/@Thunderpickesports, and https://kick.com/thunderpick. GAM3RS_X operates the tournament, and we want to shout out Hotspawn as the official media partner and GRID Esports as the data partner.
For an all-in-one viewing/betting experience, plus match start times and dates in your region, visit our CS2 section. Watch the embedded live streams and place bets using your favorite crypto.
World-class talent takes you through every moment of the action. We’ve got casting pairs of Chad “SPUNJ” Burchill and Alex “Machine” Richardson, alongside Harry “JustHarry” Russell and Hugo “Hugo” Byron.
South African powerhouse Sam “Tech Girl” Wright, alongside Tres “stunna” Saranthus, are the hosts. Analysts are Sudhen “Bleh” Wahengbam, Janko “YNk” Paunović, Teodor “tedd” Borisov and Jason “moses” O’Toole.
Providing on-stage hosting and on-the-ground reporting are Anastasija “Heccu” Tolmačeva and James “BanKs” Banks. It’s abundantly clear that viewers are in good hands!
Prize Pool Distribution
There’s a massive $1 million on the line at the TWC 2026 LAN Finals, divided equally into a $500,000 Player Share and a $500,000 Club Share. Check out the prize pool distribution below.
| Place | Player Share | Club Share | Total Prize |
| 1st | $250,000 | $250,000 | $500,000 |
| 2nd | $125,000 | $125,000 | $250,000 |
| 3rd | $50,000 | $50,000 | $100,000 |
| 4th | $25,000 | $25,000 | $50,000 |
| 5th–6th | $15,000 | $15,000 | $30,000 each ($60,000) |
| 7th–8th | $10,000 | $10,000 | $20,000 each ($40,000) |
| Total | $500,000 | $500,000 | $1,000,000 |
Teams Competing At TWC 2026 LAN Finals
The TWC 2026 LAN Finals is one of the most stacked iterations to date. Featuring the most recent Major Championship winners and many game legends, the field is overflowing with talent. Let’s introduce the eight teams competing.
Disclaimer: The TWC 2026 outright winner odds mentioned in this article are accurate as of Oct. 6, before ESL Pro League Season 24 concludes.
Team Falcons
At the top of the pack are Team Falcons, champions of IEM Cologne Major 2026. With Danish legend karrigan at the helm, they’re the favorites to win it all.
It’s Team Falcons’ second time at our event, having competed at TWC 2024. However, the organization fielded a completely different roster, and dropped out in the Group Stage.
At TWC 2026 LAN Finals, Team Falcons boasts a star-studded roster with iconic rifler NiKo and deadly AWPer m0NESY as the spearheads of attack.
Odds of 2.50 (+150) imply there’s a 40% chance the superteam will win, the highest chance of any competitor.
Team Falcons roster:
- Nikola “NiKo” Kovač
- Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov
- René “TeSeS” Madsen
- Maksim “kyousuke” Lukin
- Finn “karrigan” Andersen (IGL)
- Danny “zonic” Sørensen (Coach)
FURIA
With legendary Brazilian star FalleN retiring at the end of this year, the TWC 2026 LAN Finals represent one of the few remaining chances for “The Professor” to earn a top-tier trophy.
FURIA are our defending champions. In 2025, the team had us on the edge of our seats as they barreled through Group A with a clean 2–0 record and defeated Aurora Gaming 2–0 to earn a spot in the Grand Final.
In the Grand Final, FURIA pulled off an incredibly rare best-of-five reverse-sweep against NAVI. After going down 0–2, FURIA pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in CS2 history, winning 3–2.
If FURIA wins, they’ll become the first back-to-back champions of the Thunderpick World Championship series. There’s a 25% chance of FURIA coming out on top, as implied by odds of 4.00 (+300).
FURIA roster:
- Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato
- Mareks “YEKINDAR” Gaļinskis
- Yuri “yuurih” Boian
- Danil “molodoy” Golubenko
- Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo (IGL)
- Sidnei “sidde” Macedo (Coach)
Legacy
In September, Legacy won FISSURE Playground 3 with style, smashing G2 Esports 3–0 in the Grand Final.
That was the South American side’s second top-tier LAN trophy of the year, after winning the CS Asia Championships 2026. They also finished 3rd at Esports World Cup and IEM Atlanta, showcasing consistent form.
Legacy just keeps climbing, from 12th–14th place on the VRS Global leaderboard at the start of the year to breaking into the top five in recent months.
A podium finish for Legacy at TWC 2026 LAN Finals could be on the cards. Outright winner odds of 4.50 (+350) indicate there’s a 22.22% probability of arT’s men winning.
Legacy roster:
- Bruno “latto” Rebelatto
- Eduardo “dumau” Wolkmer
- Vinicius “n1ssim” Pereira
- Santino “try” Rigal
- Andrei “arT” Piovezan (IGL)
- Alan “adr” Riveros (Coach)
Aurora Gaming
Aurora Gaming used to feature an all-Turkish lineup. In early July, the organization made significant changes to its CS2 roster, adding ex-MOUZ player Jimpphat and Team Falcons’ former IGL, rifler kyxsan.
The new-look Aurora Gaming roster is one to watch, showcasing fantastic form at the recent StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2026 event. They reached the Grand Final before losing 1–3 to Team Vitality.
The squad is no stranger to the TWC series, having first competed in 2024. At the main event of TWC 2025, Aurora Gaming finished 2nd in Group B and placed 4th overall, losing to a reverse-sweep by The MongolZ in the 3rd-place decider. There’s a 16.67% chance of Aurora Gaming lifting the TWC 2026 trophy, as indicated by outright winner odds of 6.00 (+500).
Aurora Gaming roster:
- Ali “Wicadia” Haydar Yalçın
- Özgür “woxic” Eker
- İsmailсan “XANTARES” Dörtkardeş
- Jimi “Jimpphat” Salo
- Damjan “kyxsan” Stoilkovski (IGL)
- Ashley “ashhh” Battye (Coach)
PARIVISION
In July, PARIVISION reached the Grand Final of XSE Pro League 2026 before losing 0–3 to 9z Team. We hope to see that strong form at the TWC 2026 LAN Finals, especially with an exciting recent signing.
On Sept. 17, PARIVISION signed veteran Kazakhstani rifler HObbit, whom you might remember from 2017, when he won the PGL Major Kraków tournament with Gambit Esports.
Led by the polarizing veteran IGL and AWPer, Jame, PARIVISION is a potentially deadly dark horse. On a good day, PARIVISION can compete with the best in the world. However, they can just as easily crumble on the server, making Jame’s men exceptionally exciting to watch.
PARIVISION is an underdog, with outright winner odds of 25.00 (+2400), suggesting a 4% chance of winning the tournament. If the stars align, however, they could make a huge impact in their debut TWC event.
PARIVISION roster:
- Vladislav “xiELO” Lysov
- Ivan “zweih” Gogin
- Evgeniy “FL1T” Lebedev
- Abay “HObbit” Khassenov
- Dzhami “Jame” Ali (IGL)
- Dastan “dastan” Aqbaev (Coach)
9z Team
The South American outfit 9z Team impressed at IEM Cologne Major, claiming big scalps to earn a spot in the Playoff Stage before losing to FURIA. After their run in Germany, 9z carried that momentum and won their first top-tier LAN event in China, sweeping PARIVISION 3–0 in the Grand Final of XSE Pro League 2026.
We hope to see that same spark reignited at the TWC 2026 LAN Finals. However, 9z is an outlier, following a string of early exits from the past three tournaments.
That’s why the odds of 40.00 (+3900) imply there’s only a 2.50% chance 9z will go all the way in Malta.
9z Team roster:
- Luciano “luchov” Herrera
- Matias “HUASOPEEK” Ibañez
- Ignacio “meyern” Meyer
- Franco “dgt” Garcia
- Maximiliano “max” Gonzalez (IGL)
- Bruno “BIT” Lima (Coach)
BetBoom Team
With ex-NAVI IGL and Major Championship winner Boombl4 at the helm, BetBoom Team has the strategic depth to take down most competitors.
BetBoom Team can cause some serious upsets with d1Ledez and Magnojez providing the primary entry fragging and offensive firepower. The latter is frequently recognized as a frequent FACEIT queue partner of 2024 Player of the Year donk.
It’s BetBoom Team’s first appearance at our flagship event, and we can’t wait to see what they manage to accomplish. There’s an 8.33% chance we’ll see Boombl4 lead his crew to victory, as implied by odds of 12.00 (+1100).
BetBoom Team roster:
- Pavel “s1ren” Ogloblin
- Aleksandr “zorte” Zagodyrenko
- Kirill “Magnojez” Rodnov
- Daniil “d1Ledez” Kustov
- Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhaylov (IGL)
- Artem “Fierce” Ivanov (Coach)
Ninjas in Pyjamas
Virtus.pro won our Closed Qualifier in style, defeating HOTU 3–0 in the Grand Final to earn a spot at the TWC 2026 LAN Finals. Unfortunately, due to visa issues, Virtus.pro can’t attend. Per the rulebook, Ninjas in Pyjamas has stepped in as the next team in line to compete.
Ninjas in Pyjamas, led by Krimbo, is an underdog. The squad has also shown fantastic recent form, though, winning ROG JOURNEY Autumn 2026 and having a seven-match win streak.
Outright tournament winner odds of 30.00 (+2900) imply there’s only a 3.33% chance for the squad to win it all. There’s a probability of 6.67% for Krimbo’s men to reach the Grand Final, as implied by odds of 15.00 (+1400).
Ninjas in Pyjamas roster:
- Rasmus “sjuush” Beck
- Kacper “xKacpersky” Gabara
- Martin “stavn” Lund
- Adam “adamb” Ångström
- Karim “Krimbo” Moussa (IGL)
- Richard “Xizt” Landström (Coach)
Join Us For The Thrilling TWC 2026 LAN Finals
Thunderpick was created by gamers, for gamers. We are honored, proud, and incredibly excited to bring the TWC 2026 LAN Finals to life alongside our partners.
With one of the largest prize pools of a bookmaker-backed Counter-Strike event for the fourth year in a row, the stakes are massive.
Enjoy every moment with us and put your CS2 esports knowledge to the test by placing wagers using your favorite cryptocurrencies. Don’t forget to take advantage of our TWC 2026 boosted odds promotion!
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